Who Is Participating?

Explore all of the schools across the country that are Getting in the Scrap!

Joined:

2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018

Participating Schools

2 Earn Points

Earn points by completing a variety of fun and educational activities from the Activity List below.

Participating teachers will receive a Get in the Scrap! canvas tote bag after their classroom reaches 100 points.

Activity List

Below are the activities you can choose from to reach your 100 point goal. Some are quick, some take a little longer. There's something for everyone! Activities are organized by the number of points they're worth.

Download this planning guide to use in your classroom.

Don't forget to browse the FAQ section to learn how to record points and document and send your progress to the Museum to receive cool prizes.

Memory Jar

Many kids don’t feel like they can make a difference in helping the environment.A memory jar will give them the opportunity to record all they do and accomplish. These jars help foster the confident mentality and game plan for victory that students followed 70 years ago during World War II.

Energy Audit

Have students conduct a simple home energy audit using the form provided. This will get them focused on a variety of simple ways they can start conserving energy at home. You can adapt this form to conduct a school audit, too.

Energy-Recycling Quiz

How much do your students already know about recycling and energy conservation? Test how your students’ knowledge about environmentalism grows throughout the Get in the Scrap! project by using this pre- and post-test.

Create your own Propaganda Poster

To ensure that the American public was 100% behind the war effort during World War II, the government produced thousands of posters that encouraged people to join the Army and Navy, not waste food, volunteer their time, and help pay for the war by buying War Bonds. Many posters encouraged people to Get in the Scrap. These posters are known as propaganda posters and your students will design their own to decorate the classroom and school.

Recycling is A-MAZE-ing!

Sometimes finding a recycling bin can be a real maze! This is a fun activity that encourages students to be more conscious of where recycling bins are located across their schools and communities. Now, they’ll always know a spot to toss water bottles and newspapers.

Understanding Recyling with a Twist

Take a close look at the recycling symbol. What do you think it means? Why do you think it’s shaped that way? The word “recycle” has the word “cycle” in it. A cycle is any series of events that repeat themselves, like a bicycle wheel goes round and round. The main aim of recycling to go round and round, or in other words, find ways to reuse things again and again in a never-ending cycle.

There is a great way to understand the idea of a never-ending cycle. It’s called a Mobius strip. August Mobius was a 19th century mathematician who discovered the concept of a non-orientable two-dimensional surface with only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. What does that mean?! Basically, a Mobius strip is a three-dimensional object with only one side. It goes on and on and on.

Skype with the Museum

Schedule a 20-minute Skype session to learn all about scrapping in WWII. Get ready to calculate how much recycled material was collected to make critical supplies for the war effort. Broadcast from The US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, Museum educators will show your students some great WWII scrapping artifacts, answers questions about what kids did on the Home Front during WWII, and offer advice on how to become a successful Get in the Scrap! school.

12 Point Activities

Get in the Scrap! Jeopardy!

This Get in the Scrap version of Jeopardy turns learning the lessons of environmental stewardship into a fast-paced game and gives your students a chance to show off their newly acquired recycling knowledge.

Create a Brochure

Another way to spread the word about local recycling resources is through creating brochures. Writing for a brochure will teach your students to compose text that is concise and impactful as well as experiment with different elements of design— photography, layout, fonts, colors, etc to create a powerful message.

Daily Recycling Fact

There’s no better way to get in the habit of getting in the scrap than learning a little about recycling and energy conservation each day. Spend 50 days in your classroom revealing a new recycling fact. We’ll provide the first 25 facts, but then it’s up to your students to research and find their own. Perfect as a bell ringer activity.

Penny Wars

During World War II, copper was a vital war material for ammunition and military equipment. Since copper was at such a high demand, the US Treasury started to make steel pennies in 1943. How do you distinguish a steel from copper penny? In addition to their difference in color, the steel penny can be picked up by a magnet!

As a nod to the WWII steel penny, challenge your class to a penny war. This one-week competition will motivate students to fundraise for a cause using the change in their pockets. All money earned can go towards buying more recycling bins for the school or even a tree to plant on school property. You can even have your students vote on what cause they’d like to contribute the funds.

Scrapping Song & Music Video

During WWII, there were plenty of popular songs written about the war, like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, You’re in the Army Now, and G.I. Jive. Here’s your students’ chance to set their new-found commitment to recycling and energy conservation to music.

Scrapping Journal

There’s no better way to understand your environmental impact than keeping a detailed record of it. In this exercise, students will record everything they throw away and everything they recycle over a seven-day period for class reflection.

Invite a Recycling Rep to your Class

Does your town have curb-side recycling or any type of recycling facility? Is there a local non-profit whose mission involves recycling or energy conservation? Learn the ins-and-outs of all things environmentally friendly in your community by inviting a recycling representative to speak to your class.

Water Bottle 100 Challenge

Americans use about 50 billion plastic water bottles each year! Only 23% are recycled. That means 38 billion water bottles are wasted each year (or 15 million barrels of oil). Let’s figure out different ways to reuse some of those bottles so they don’t end up in a landfill.

Invite a WWII Kid to Your Class

Men and women who were elementary or middle school aged during WWII are now in their 70s and 80s. Most have vivid memories of the war years and many are eager to share their experiences with students. Does one of your students have a family member who was a child on the Home Front? If so, why not invite him or her to speak to your class? Students will get a great chance to “see themselves in history” by hearing about life as a child in another age.

25 Point Activity

Get in the Scrap! Day

The Get in the Scrap! Day allows your students to present the activities they’ve been working on in the classroom related to environmentalism. It provides them the opportunity to educate fellow students on the importance of conservation at school and home. Your class will inspire other students, faculty, and school administrators to be a little more green by Getting in the Scrap!

3 Share Your Progress to Collect Prizes

Share your classroom's hard work in any one of the following ways to receive your rewards! See a list of prizes below in the FAQs.

1

Tweet

Tweet a photo of your classroom's progress poster with #getinthescrap to @wwiieducation.

2

Instagram

Snap a pic of your classroom's progress poster with #getinthescrap to @wwiimuseum.

3

Email

Send a photo of your classroom's progress poster in an email with the subject line "Get in the Scrap."

Twitter Feed

Instagram Feed

FAQs

Learn how your students will benefit, how to earn prizes, and more!

How does it work?

After you sign up, the Museum will mail you a project toolkit, including a progress chart and 100 progress stickers. You must first complete the Get in the Scrap! lesson plan to provide your students historical context before continuing to other activities.

Once you complete the lesson, explore the Activities List and decide which ones you would like your students to do. Each activity is assigned a point value. When you complete the activity, use the stickers provided (one sticker = one point) to add to your progress chart.

Participating teachers will receive a Get in the Scrap! canvas tote bag after their classroom reaches 100 points.

Prizes

Your progress chart has four levels, at increments of 25 points each. As your class achieves each new level, it will be rewarded with the following prizes:

Who is this project for?

This project is specifically designed for upper elementary and middle school students, grades 4-8.

How will my students benefit?

By participating in and leading activities for their fellow classmates students will gain experience in:
• Recycling
• Conserving energy at school and at home
• Practicing teamwork
• Demonstrating creativity
• Making decisions and commitments
• Feeling empowered
• Global citizenship

Your students will also learn about an important time in world history: World War II. They will see the war through the eyes of kids like them and feel inspired by how students responded when their country was in need.

Your students will also be rewarded for all of their hard work in and out of the classroom. The more activities your class completes, the more rewards from the Museum you will receive. Details in the "How does it work?" question above.

How do I share my class’s progress to earn prizes?

When you achieve a new level, snap a picture of your Progress Chart and Tweet it or share on Instagram with the hashtag #getinthescrap. Be sure to also tag the Museum (Twitter: @WWIIEducation, Instagram: @WWIIMuseum).

The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American Experience in the war that changed the world — why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today — so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn.